Diagram of Golden Rectangle

The golden rectangle "R", constructed by the Greeks, has the property that when a square is removed a smaller rectangle of the same shape remains. Thus a smaller square can be removed, and so on.

The Golden Rectangle is a special and very important shape in mathematics. The Golden Rectangle appears in nature, music, and is also often used in art and architecture. The special property of the Golden Rectangle is that the ratio of its length to the width is equal to approximately 1.618:1.

The Ancient Egyptians, Mesopotamians and Greeks were aware of the beauty of the Golden Rectangle and used it to create many different buildings. The Golden Rectangle appears in several places in the design of the Parthenon.

The Golden Rectangle was discovered in ancient times, and has been admired and used ever since. Our human eye perceives the golden rectangle as an especially beautiful geometric form.

Check that you understand what these words mean in this document
Rectangle: a geometrical shape with the opposite sides equal, like a table or a book.
Square: a geometrical shape of four equal sides like the boxes on a chess board.
To remove: to take away.
Property: characteristic, quality.
Ratio: the relationship between two numbers, which expresses how much bigger one is than the other (e.g.100:5).
Approximately: nearly.
To be aware of: to know.
To perceive: to see and understand.

For further information visit:
http://www.greatbuildings.com/buildings/The_Parthenon.html